1. Field of Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to networks and, more specifically, to supporting different topologies in a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) network.
2. Description of Related Art
A Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol provides transparent forwarding by providing the benefits of Layer 3 on a Layer 2 network. The TRILL protocol is often used to effectively replace spanning tree as a mechanism by which to find loop free trees within Layer 2 broadcast domains.
Components in a TRILL network may be provided by different vendors that introduce vendor-specific extensions to the TRILL network. Components, e.g., switches, provided by one vendor may not be able to implement or process extensions associated with another vendor. As a component provided by one vendor may be unable to process vendor-specific extensions associated with another vendor, it is likely that in a mixed-vendor TRILL network, the benefits of vendor-specific extensions of different vendors may not be realized on an end-to-end basis. Vendor-specific extensions may be ignored by components in a mixed-vendor TRILL network and, therefore, the benefits of the extensions may not be realized. Significant issues may arise, however, when components from one vendor in a mixed-vendor TRILL network incorrectly process vendor-specific extensions associated with another vendor. Among issues that may arise are incorrect packet forwarding, packet drops, and loops occurring if vendor-specific extensions are incorrectly processed.